It might be a good idea on Friday for basketball players such as David Cohn to put his cell phone on silent.

Cohn, who plays for the AAU Illinois Wolves and at York High in Elmhurst, expects his phone to be bombarded with text messages and phone calls after a new NCAA rule takes effect allowing college coaches to reach out without limit to potential recruits who have finished their sophomore years.

As Cohn puts it, "It's going to be nuts."

What promises to be a dramatic change opens the doors for what the NCAA figures to be better relationship building between coaches and prospects — and higher cell phone bills for those without unlimited plans.

Under the current structure, coaches are permitted by the NCAA just one phone call per month to a recruit from June 15 after his sophomore year to July 31 after his junior year. The coach is then allowed two phone calls per week, but text messages are banned.

The recruit is allowed to call coaches without limit.

Now, the floodgates are open for two-way constant communication, which might lead to even quicker decision-making in the already hasty world of verbal commitments.

"Everything is going to get sped up," Illinois coach John Groce said. "Kids can get information faster."

College coaches are excited at the possibility of building tighter relationships with players, but they understand they have to take precautions to not turn off a recruit with excessive messaging.

Nobody likes a needy suitor.

Northwestern coach Bill Carmody met with his staff to set out a plan to approach how to handle the rule change. The key, he said, is to ask the player.

"You call them and say, 'How do you want to be recruited?' " Carmody said. "That's the best way. Some kids might think they want all the attention and then be like, 'Oh, my Lord.' We'll let them know we're not going to bombard them."

Groce has already warned his wife that a certain portion of each night will be set aside for contacting recruits. He also hopes to find the right balance with players.

"The thing that makes it hard for me is being a parent," Groce said. "Would I want every coach in America having unlimited communication with my son? Probably not. You want to find out how much, what means of contact and what's best for (each)."

One interesting aspect of the rule change will be how it changes the dynamic of recruiting by cutting out so-called "middle men" so coaches can deal directly with the recruit.

"Coaches and players will have a better understanding of each other," said Curie High coach Mike Oliver, who coaches highly recruited Cliff Alexander. "In the past, they had to rely on someone else to pass a message on. There's a lot of people who say they're speaking for the school. There can be 10-15 people saying they're the deciding (connector) with a college."

It's easy to see how the rule could be taken too far. How many calls in a day are too many? How does a parent limit text messages during school hours? How does a recruit keep an overly persistent coach at bay?

It will take a collaborative effort from sound-minded coaches as well as watchful parenting by recruits' moms and dads.

Elite level players such as Jabari Parker, the top-rated recruit out of Simeon, already face a barrage of recruiting attention.

But Friday could be as hectic for players receiving attention from high- and mid-major schools like Cohn, who is considering William and Mary and Colorado State. He hopes the rule change will allow a coach to call him who would have not found time to contact him under the old rules.

Cohn has a plan to manage the interest.

"I'm going to be really organized," he said. "I'll probably get a notebook to keep track of which coach texted me at this time and when I called someone back. It'll get way too overwhelming otherwise."